The morning session success of the #18 Takata Dome NSX was overshadowed by disappointment as the car fell to 12th in the SL session after going off track when it mattered most. Meanwhile, NISSAN fared well as three of its cars made it into the top five, while Toyota Supras occupy 6th to 10th on the starting grid.

QUALIFYING SESSION 1

Saturday action at Sportsland SUGO got off to an intermittent start as the first of the two Official Qualifying sessions was delayed by no fewer than three red flag periods. The first, to clear the #52 ProMiu Taiyo Sekiyu Kumho Celica from the highpoint of the circuit, was no sooner over when the #777 Team Takamizawa Porsche GT3-RS got beached in the kitty litter on the way down from turn two. Towards the end of the hour-long session, when both classes ran together for the last 20 minutes, the #9 Gulf ADVAN Mosler MT 900R slammed into the barriers after going straight on at the chicane. The damage to the front of the car was severe and stopped on-track action for nearly 15 minutes.

Particularly noticeable among the GT500 competitors, tactics played a major role in the session. Many of the front-runners were visibly slow, searching for free track in which to make their 'attack' runs - and a guaranteed berth in the afternoon's SL (Super Lap) session.

In the end, it was the #18 Takata Dome NSX who topped the timesheets - its 1:16.099 a mere one-thousandth of a second ahead of the hard-charging #12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z. The blue Nissan edged out the identical #3 G'ZOX Hasemi Z, itself ahead of a pair of NSXs, the #100 Raybrig machine and the #32 PIAA Nakajima EPSON-liveried car. Sixth fastest was the first of the NISMO cars, the #22 Motul Pitwork machine, followed by the quickest of the Supras the #6 ESSO ULTRAFLO machine The heaviest of the NSXs (due to its success ballast from coming 2nd in Sepang), the #8 ARTA machine was 8th, followed by both of the Dynacity Supras, the #37 car leading the #36 machine.

Success ballast surely played its part in the result of the #1 Xanavi NISMO Z, its 90kg handicap clearly apparent at this most hilly of tracks.

Occupying a host of positions in the lower end of the grid are Supras, their lack of overhang - and thus downforce - a major factor here.

In its usual position, the #88 JLOC Murcielago RG-1 brought up the rear, though this is a new car for the team. Their other Lamborghini has gone to the GT300 class from this race, and is running with the number 87. Although the #88 car is at the back of the GT500 field, the gap to the leaders has been considerably lessened - today's time 5.1 seconds in arrears of the top car.

GT300 is never anything less than intense, and SUGO is no exception. This morning's session, apart from the red flags - all due to situations with cars from this class - was indicative of things to come in tomorrow's race, and again illustrated the strength of one of the rookie teams, direxiv Motorsports. The Vemac 320R machine again showed the way, ahead of the ever-strengthening RECKLESS MR-S, now being developed (somewhat ironically) by the guys who made the 3rd-placed machine, the #43 Garaiya, so successful. In fourth, it's the other MR-S, a different team, but running on the same - and highly-effective Michelin tires.

Previously a race winner, though feeling the pinch a little this season, the #7 Re: Amemiya RX-7 was fifth, ahead of the #62 Willcom Vemac; with a pair of Z cars next up - the #46 car leading the #13 machine. Rounding out the top ten, the #19 WedsSport Celica was just in front of the reigning champion in the class, the #0 EBBRO NSX. As with the lead car in GT500, the weight handicap on the car is taking a (no pun intended) heavy toll on the team's qualifying aspirations.

A little further back, the #77 CUSCO SUBARU ADVAN Impreza, also a brand new machine for this event, was considerably better this morning with 12th, having run 17th on Friday.

QUALIFYING SESSION 2

The afternoon's main attraction, the SL, or SUPER LAP sessions, got underway shortly before 4pm. Immediately prior to the SL were two 15-minute sessions - to determine who would occupy the 11th and 12th spots in each class.

First out were the GT300 cars, and it was the brand new SUBARU Impreza from CUSCO Racing that made the cut alongside the #11 GPH Ferrari Dunlop F360 Modena - a brilliant achievement for the new car.

The greatest jump by any team in SL was the M-TEC-run #0 EBBRO NSX, leaping from 10th in the morning to take pole in the afternoon - two-tenths ahead of the machine it eclipsed, the #27 direxiv Motorsport Vemac 320R which was second. Third on the grid went to another of the mid-engined British supercars, the #62 Willcom ADVAN 350R variant. It will be joined on the second row of the grid by the Amemiya Aspara Drink RX-7, itself moving up from a best of fifth in the earlier session. The #13 Endless ADVAN Z lines up next to the #43 Garaiya, the bight orange machine having fallen from 3rd in the morning. On the fourth row it's another Z car, the #46 Dream Cube's ADVAN Z having maintained its position from today's first session. Next to it is the first of the MR-S entries, the #31 Kicho Hozan entry, just ahead of the #30 RECKLESS MR-S, which fell from second to ninth. The #77 CUSCO SUBARU AVAN Impreza is 10th, the #19 WedsSports Celica 11th and the GPH Ferrari DUNLOP 12th.

The GT500 session was halted briefly after Formula One returnee Ralph Firman went off at Rainbow and into the gravel on his qualifying attempt. Incredibly, it was Ryo Michigami, in the sister Dome NSX, who fell victim to possibly a similar lack of grip, going off heavily at 'Uma no Se' (Horse's Back), the turn at the end of the back stretch - before the sweeping right-hander that leads back up the hill to the Dunlop bridge and the Start/Finish line.

Bitter disappointment for the top qualifier as the #18 Takata Dome NSX now lines up 12th beside the sister DOME-prepared car, the #8 ARTA machine in 11th. It's not all doom and gloom for Honda however, as Andre Lotterer did a fine of getting the #32 EPSON NSX on pole (1:15.810). He will be joined on the front row by the #12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z, Yuji Ide the first car to break the one minute 16-second barrier with his 1:15.997.

The second row is another NSX vs. Z car affair, this time the #22 Motul Pitwork Z just edging out the #100 Raybrig NSX in fourth. Right behind it's the #3 G'ZOX Hasemi Z alongside the #6 ESSO ULTRAFLO Supra. The blue and white Toyota leads a brace of no fewer than five Supras, the rest of which occupy the fourth and fifth rows of the grid. First among them is the Round 2 winner, the #38 ZENT Cerumo Supra, ahead of the quicker of the TEAM TOM'S cars, the #36 Dynacity entry. The fifth row sees the #37 Dynacity car ahead of the #39 DENSO SARD SUPRA GT, followed by the pair of DOME NSXs in 11th and 12th.

Expect some jostling among the top group - from both classes - as soon as the starting lights go out tomorrow. The opening laps are sure to provide incredibly exciting dicing and slicing as competitors try to make their mark in the early stages.


*CALSONIC IMPUL Z Awarded Pole Position after Rules Infringement Drops EPSON NSX to Second
A rules infringement during the Super Lap session on Saturday afternoon has resulted in the #32 EPSON NSX being demoted one grid position, with the #12 CALSONIC IMPUL Z car benefiting in the process.
After another competitor went off track while the #32 EPSON NSX was on its installation lap for SL qualifying, the car was called back to the pits while the stranded car was collected by safety marshals. As cars carry only enough fuel to complete their required running in SL, the #32 car requested a fuel top-up.
Permission was granted and the team added fuel to the car while it waited in the pitlane before going back out to re-attempt its SL. Organizers later deemed this action to be outside the rules, and have penalized the Nakajima Racing squad one grid position as a result.
No other positions on the grid have been affected by this decision.

(from left) T.Matsuda/A.Lotterer, H.Kurosawa/S.Hosokawa

Driver comments:
GT300
Shinya Hosokawa - #0 EBBRO NSX (GT300 Pole Position)
"We really pushed from the first session yesterday. Although we'd have preferred more running in the dry, I made no mistakes and was able to get a good lap when it mattered. Running 10th this morning was probably as good as we could realistically have expected. We weren't sure if changing the set up this afternoon would work or not. However, it all came together. We're hoping for a good result here, but can't count on the tires like we did in Sepang. We're ahead of the Michelins, and are looking forward to collecting as many points tomorrow as possible."